Package



July 14, 1970 J, G 5 3,520,409

PACKAGE Filed March 10, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

July 14, 1970 R. J. GIBBS, SR 3,520,409

PACKAGE Filed March 10, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

July 14, 1970 R. J. GIBBS, SR

PACKAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 10, 1969 INVENTOR. fiaaz-wr 1f 6/555 JR.

BY PCQT ATTORNEY.

July 14, 1970 R. J. GIBBS, SR 3,520,499

PACKAGE Filed March 10, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR: 46 50 I2 fear/Pr v. 67555 SH.

W @Taw ATTORNEY.

United States Patent U.S. Cl. 206-52 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A package for shipping, storing and dispensing rolls of sheet material mounted on elongated spindles is made from a single blank and comprises a bottom portion, two opposed side portions integral with the bottom portion and two opposed end portions formed from inwardly turned flaps which are extensions of the side portions and from locking members which are extensions of the bottom and are wrapped upwardly and downwardly around the flaps. The flaps have spindle receiving slots therethrough which are constructed in such a manner as to cam the spindles upwardly when the flaps are opened and downwardly into a locked position when flaps are closed.

In the shipping and storing of rolls of sheet material it is desirable, and often necessary, that any contact with the exposed surfaces of the material be avoided. Even the slightest pressure may cause deformation of the roll and render the material useless.

This is particularly true in the case of athletic adhesive tape which is often used in large quantities that must be rapidly and easily removable from the rolls. Tape of this type is traditionally packaged with a plurality of rolls mounted on a spindle and the spindle is positioned .and secured within a container so that the rolls will be suspended away from the sides of the container. One such container now usable for supporting the s indle is a cylindrically shaped container into which the rolls of tape and the centering spindle may be placed. Each end of the container is provided with an indentation that extends into the ends of the hollow spindle and thereby prevents the spindle from moving laterally within the container. Another embodiment of the same type of cylindrically shaped container provides for the use of flanges on each end of the spindle that are greater in diameter than the rolls of tape from contacting the internal surfaces of the container.

The above described type of container is relatively expensive and must be made of fairly sturdy materials. For example, the end plates which have the indentations for securing the spindles in position are made of metal and the entire container is generally fairly costly and difiicult to open and use.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an extremely inexpensive package that may be manufactured from a single corrugated fiberboard blank. The blank may be die cut in a single operation from a sheet of fiberboard material and folded into a unique package construction that is capable of supporting at least one spindle and which, when the spindle is in position provides a one-piece package construction that is locked in position without the use of external securing means.

The package is so constructed that the spindles are mounted in a spindle receiving slot which includes a 3,520,409 Patented July 14, 1970 spindle camming edge such that when the side portions of the package are moved outwardly, the tape containing spindles are raised to allow easy removal of the entire contents if desired. This feature also allows the removal of a single roll or multiple rolls of tape from a single spindle and the replacement of the spindle containing the remaining rolls into the package for subsequent use. The package may be opened and closed any number of times to remove rolls of tape without destroying the package. As an alternate method of removing entire contents at one time, spindles may be removed by tearing the ends from the package along weakened areas provide-d for this purpose. It is also contemplated that the package may be used as a tape dispenser so that the tape may be pulled directly from the rotatably mounted rolls without removing the rolls from the spindle. A cutter may be fixed to the side portions if desired.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the blank used in constructing the package of the subject invention;

FIG. la is a view of a modification of the flap to include a locking tab;

FIG. 2 is perspective view showing the blank of FIG. 1 partially folded into the completed package;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the blank of FIG. 1 completely folded into the package of the subject invention with one roll supporting spindle in position within the package and another roll supporting spindle shown in position for insertion into the package;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the completely folded package of the subject invention showing the spindles within the package;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the package taken along line 55 of FIG. 3 showing the spindle receiving aperture in position to receive the spindle;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of the package taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 showing the spindle locked in position in the package;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of the package showing the spindle after being cammed upwardly from the locked position; n

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the subject invention showing means for supporting only a single roll supporting spindle;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a single spindle supporting package; and

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional fragmentary view of the package of the subject invention showing a spindle in position within the package.

Referring to FIG. 1, a one-piece blank 10 which may preferably be made of corrugated fiberboard is illustrated in a completely flat unfolded position. Blank 10 may be die cut from a large piece of corrugated fiberboard and the preferred fold lines may be pressed therein all in a single operation.

FIGS. 1 and 2 best illustrate the various integral parts of the package and the manner in which the parts are folded to provide the spindle receiving slots and the slots for guiding the spindles into the apertures. The package, shown generally at 11 in FIG. 2, has a bottom portion 12 which is formed from the center portion of the blank 10. A pair of opposed side portions 13 and 14 are formed integral with the bottom portion 12 and folded upwardly approximately 90 along the fold lines 15 and 16, respectively, to form the sides for the package 11.

Side portion 13 has a pair of flaps 17 and 18 which are secured to the ends thereof and may be turned inwardly, when flap 13 is in the upright position, approximately 90 in the manner shown in FIG. 2. This construction makes up a portion of the ends of package 11 shown generally at 19 and 20 in FIG. 2. Flap 17 is integral with side portion 13 and is hinged along a fold line 21 and flap 18 is secured to the other end of side portion 13 and hinged along fold line 22. An open ended spindle receiving slot 23 is die cut, or otherwise formed, in flap 17 and a similar spindle receiving slot 24 is die cut in the opposed flap 18. When flaps 17 and 18 are folded inwardly as shown in FIG. 2, they provide opposed spindle receiving slots 23 and 24 which are adapted to support a single roll supporting spindle. 'Each of the spindle receiving slots have a camming edge 23a and 24a which act as a camming surface to lift the spindles and a locking edge 23b and 24b which locks the spindles in position during shipment and storage. The locking edge of the spindle receiving slot is shorter than the camming edge. This allows the locking edge to be moved out of alignment with the spindle guiding slot and the spindle to be removed.

Side portion 14 also has a pair of flaps 25 and 26 secured to the ends thereof. Flap 25 has a spindle receiving slot 27 with a camming edge 27a and locking edge 27b. Flap 26 has a spindle receiving slot 28 with a camming edge 28a and a locking edge 28b. Flaps 25 and 26 are folded inwardly in a manner similar to flaps 17 and 18 along fold lines 29 and 30, respectively. These flaps provide a spindle supporting means for a second spindle that may be mounted within the Package 11.

Two package locking members 32 and 33 are integrally secured to the ends of bottom portion 12 by a pair of fold lines 34 and 35 respectively. Locking member 32 has a second portion 37 that is secured to first portion 36 along double fold lines 38 and 39. A pair of spindle guiding slots 40 and 41 are die cut into second portion 37 and extend outwardly from fold line 39. The second package locking means 33 is constructed in a manner similar to member 32 with a first portion 42 secured to bottom portion 12 along fold line 35 and a second portion 43 secured to first portion 42 along fold lines 44 and 45. A pair of spindle guiding slots 46 and 47 are die cut into portion 43 and extend outwardly from fold line 45. The end of the spindle guiding slots 40, 41, 46, and 47 nearest the fold line have a die cut portion 40a, 41a, 46a, and 47a to receive the stops 80 as hereinafter described.

A pair of elongated slots 48 and 49 are die cut into bottom portion 12 at opposite ends thereof to receive tabs 50 and 51, respectively, at the outer ends of portions 37 and 43, respectively. If desired, a pair of apertures 48a and 4911 may be die cut through the bottom portion 12 in the center of slots 48 and 49. The apertures 48a and 49a provide an opening to insert a finger or thumb to grasp the package and remove it from a shipping container.

Each of the flaps 17, 18, 25 and 26 may be provided with a locking tab, shown as 62 in FIG. 1a, which may be folded into the opening formed by the apertures 48a and 49a and the apertures '66 and 67 to secure the package in an assembled position.

The manner in which package 11 is folded and locked into position is best illustrated in FIG. 2. Side portions 13 and 14 are first turned upwardly approximately 90 with respect to bottom portion 12 and then flaps 17,

18, 25 and 26 are turned inwardly approximately 90 from sid portions 13 and 14. Package locking member 32 may then be folded upwardly approximately 90 with respect to bottom portion 12 so that first portion 36 overlies the outer surface of flaps 17 and 25 to form an outer covering therefore and then second portion may be folded inwardly and downwardly to form an inner surface over flaps 17 and 25. Tab 50 may then be inserted into slot 48 to lock end 19 of the package in position. Spindle guiding slots 40 and 41 extend downwardly from the top of end portion 19 to a position in alignment with slots 23 and 27 and provide a guiding means for the insertion of the roll supporting spindles. To complete the assembly of package 11, locking member 33 is folded upwardly and then donwardly over flaps 18 and 26 and tab 51 is inserted into slot 49 to lock the member in place.

Referring to FIG. 3, the rolls of tape 55 that are to be shipped and stored within package 11, are mounted on a pair of spindles 56 which are, in turn, mounted within package 11 in spindle receiving slots 23, 24, 27 and 28. One such spindle is illustrated in FIG. 3 within package 11 and a second spindle 56 is shown in a position ready for insertion into the package. To secure spindle 56 within package 11, the side portion 13 is moved outwardly to align the spindle receiving slots 23 and 24 with the spindle guiding slots 40 and 46. The tape containing spindle is dropped onto the camming surfaces 23a and 24a of the spindle receiving slots 23 and 24. The side portion 13 is then moved inwardly thereby lowering the camming surfaces which moves the spindle downward and moving the locking surfaces 23b and 24b over the spindle to secure the spindle in the package. The positioning and locking of the spindle is most clearly shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The spindle 56 is placed into the spindle guiding slot 47 and lowered onto the camming edge 28a of flap 26. Side 14 is moved inwardly lowering the camming edge 28a and moving the locking edge 28b into position over the spindle. As shown most clearly in FIGS. 5-7, the flap 26 is die cut to include a stop 80. This stop is used in opening the package to limit the movement of the side portions and position the spindle receiving slot with the spindle guiding slot when the spindle is inserted into the package. The stop 80 also prevents the sides from moving a distance sufficient to cam the spindles from the package. In the assembled package the stops 80 move into the opening at the top of the spindle guiding slots provided by the die cut portions 40a, 41a, 46a and 47a shown in FIG. 1. The flap may also be die cut to include a projection 81 which prevents the sides of the package from accidentally being opened. The remaining flaps 17, 18,

and 25 would also have the stops 80 and projection 81 I die cut in the flap. With spindle 56 firmly seated within apertures 23 and 24, and the other roll supporting spindle firmly seated within apertures 27 and 28, it will be apparent that the package 11 may be handled in any position without danger of the spindles being inadvertently removed therefrom. This construction is best illustrated by FIG. 12 wherein spindle 56 is shown firmly seated within spindle receiving slot 23 and the end of spindle 56 is very closely adjacent the outer flap covering formed by first portion 36 of locking member 32. This package construction also accomplishes the desired result of supporting the individual rolls of tape 55 away from the sides of the package to prevent any deformation or damage of the tape.

To remove the spindles from package 11 to remove the rolls of tape 55, the side portion 13 of the package is moved outwardly which moves the locking surface of the spindle receiving slot out of its locking position while the camming surfaces are lifting the spindle upwardly. This action is illustrated in FIG. 7. As the side 14 is moved outwardly, the locking edge 28b is moved out of its locking position and the spindle 56 is lifted by the camming edge 28a. The tape containing spindles are lifted upwardly as the sides of the package are moved outwardly. The outward movement of the side of the package allows for ample space to grasp the tape and remove the entire tape containing spindle. As an alternative to the above, the fold lines 21, 22, 29 and 30, that secure flaps 17, 18, 25 and 26 to the ends of side portions 13 and 14 may be provided with perforations or slots 57 extending completely therethrough to form weakened areas along which the ends 19 and 20 may be torn. The intended user of the tape may grasp ends 19 and 20 rapidly move the ends outwardly in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 4 and in the direction of the single arrow in FIG. 12 and move the ends from the full line position to the position shown in phantom in FIG. 12. Obviously, this will quickly release the spindles from the package and enable the user to rapidly and easily remove rolls 55 from the spindles.

If it is desired to utilize the package as a dispenser without removing the spindles therefrom, it is only necessary for the user to locate an end of the tape on rolls 55 and pull outwardly. Since the rolls are rotatably mounted on the spindles, the rolls will freely rotate and release the tape therefrom.

Various modifications of the preferred embodiment of the invention described hereinabove are illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11. The numerals used in FIGS. 1 to 4 to indicate the various parts of the package of the preferred embodiment are also used in FIGS. 8 to 11 for the corresponding package parts.

Referring to FIG. 8, generally rectangular package 11 is identical to the package illustrated in FIG. 2 with the one exception that a lid 60 is shown secured to side 13 of the package. Lid 60 may be formed as an integral extension of side 13 and may be provided with a fold line 61 which forms a hinge between side 13 and the lid. A downwardly extending flap 6A may also be formed as a hinged extension of lid 60 and is also preferably part of the one-piece blank construction used to fabricate the entire package. It will, of course, be appreciated that lid 60 may be secured to either side 13 or side 14 to accomplish the desired result.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 shows a pair of substantially identical lids 70 and 71 secured to sides 13 and 14, respectively. Lids 70 and 71 are also integrally formed as part of a one-piece blank and fold lines 72 and 73 form hinges between the lids and the side portions. Each lid is provided with an extension in the form of downwardly depending flaps 74 and 75 that may preferably be formed of a height equal to the height of sides 13 and 14 so that they extend completely to the bottom portion 12 and act as a divider between adjacent rolls carried within the package. This construction also provides extra strength and stability for the entire package.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate embodiments of this invention that are constructed to support only a single rollsupporting spindle. Referring to FIG. 10, the generally rectangular package 11 is equipped with the usual side portions 13 and 14 and the end portions 19 and 20. Each of the flaps 18 and 26 has a spindle receiving slot 24 and 23. Flaps 17 and 25 also have spindle receiving slots. When the side portions 13 and 14 are moved outwardly, a tape containing spindle may be positioned in the spindle guiding slots 40 and 46 and spindle receiving slot. The side portions 13 and 14 are moved inwardly to lower the spindle and lock it in the package.

Referring to FIG. 11, a package similar to that shown in FIG. 10 may be constructed for supporting a single spindle centrally within the package. The flap 18 is constructed with a spindle receiving slot 24. Flap 26 is constructed with a spindle guiding slot 82 which will align with the spindle guiding slot 46 in end when the package is folded. Moving side 13 outwardly will align the spindle receiving slot with the spindle guiding slots 46 and 82 and allow the tape containing spindle to be positioned in the package. Side 13 may then be moved inwardly to lock the spindle in the package. The other end of the package is constructed in a like manner.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the present invention provides an inexpensive package that may be manufactured in a single operation from a single corrugated fiberboard blank. This package is of one-piece construction and may be locked in position without the use of external securing means. The tape stored in the unique package may be readily made available for use and is at all times protected from damage by contact from the internal package structure.

While there has been described what is at the present considered to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is therefore aimed to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A reusable package for shipping, storing and dispensing rolls of sheet material mounted on elongated spindles comprising: a generally rectangular open top container, said container having a bottom portion, two opposed side portions and two opposed end portions, said side portions being formed from integral hinged extensions of said bottom portion, each of said end portions being formed from a pair of hinged flaps integral with said side portions and turned inwardly approximately from said side portions, each of said pair of flaps having at least one spindle receiving slot, said spindle receiving slot having an open end, the lower edge of said spindle receiving slot being longer than the upper edge thereof, and each of said end portions further comprising a locking member formed from an extension of said bottom portion and turned upwardly approximately 90 from said bottom portion to form an outer covering for said spindle receiving flaps, and each of said locking members further having a second portion integral with said first portion and turned downwardly over the inner surface of said flaps, said second portion having a spindle guiding slot adapted to guide said spindle into said spindle receiving slot, each of said flaps being movable within the space between said bottom portion and said second portion of said locking member.

2. The package of claim 1 in which the lower edge of said spindle receiving slot defines a camming surface adapted to lift a spindle when said side portions are moved outwardly and the upper edge of said spindle receiving slot defines a locking surface adapted to secure a spindle in said slot when said side portions are moved inwardly.

3. The package of claim 1 further comprising elongated slots in said bottom portion adjacent said end portions and tabs secured to the outer ends of said second portions and inserted into said slots to lock said end portions in poition.

4. The package of claim 1 further comprising a lid formed by an integral extension of one of said side portions and extending over the entire top surface of said package.

5. The package of claim 1 further comprising a lid formed by integral extensions of said side portions that meet in the center of said package and have downwardly depending tabs that separate adjacent spindles within said package.

6. The package of claim 1 wherein each of said flaps has at least one spindle receiving aperture and said package is adapted to support a plurality of spindles.

The package of claim 1 wherein each flap has a stop on the upper surface thereof to limit the outward movement of said side portions.

8. The package of claim 3 in which further comprising a circular aperture coextensive with the center of the elongated slots in said bottom portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Cook.

Feigelman 20652 Froelich 242-55.53 Feinberg 20658 10 8 3,144,970 8/1964 Beschmann 206-58 2,793,802 5/1957 Scaturro 229-36 FOREIGN PATENTS 209,980 1/1924 Great Bntain.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, 111., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

